Kaydyn
by soarxhauntedxflower
Summary: I started writing this story for fun so its still in a story format. My friends though started telling me that it had many characteristics of Final Fantasy and soon after I found this website. So I decided to submit it on her. I hope you like it! R
1. Chapter 1

Flying through the darkness, I swerved back and forth around the trees. Behind me I heard the crackling of twigs and the faintest trace of wind moving, but I didn't pay attention to it. My mind was on things forward.

All the sudden I came to a clearing. It was beautiful in the darkness that my eyes had adjusted to. It was a little meadow with pockets of daisies and other wild flowers. I knew though, that everything here was not as good as it seemed. This was the saying that everybody lived by. Watch your back or you may be attacked when you least expect it. The motto of the land of Kaydyn.

I gingerly walked the perimeter of the area, my eyes open and my ears listening. I growled once in the back of my throat when I felt the air move behind me. It was only Seth, one of my partners, and I relaxed the little bit that I could.

"Hey Aidyn," he whispered, saying my name. "Um…what are we looking for again?"

Despite the danger, I gave a little chuckle. "This time it's a wozel. Those little fast things remember?" Even though he could be a little annoying jokester at times, I was glad that Seth was with me.

"Oh yeah…" Seth thought for a moment. "Those things were tricky weren't they?"

"Yeah, which means you better watch your back," I warned looking around warily. "At least we know how to catch them."

"We do?" Seth gave me a wide-eyed look.

Why if he was older, did I always feel like I was in charge? "Well yeah, we did have to catch them back in Mewil woods."

Seth eyes sparkled in the dark. "I knew that, just making sure you did."

Too bad I needed him or I would have knocked him out there and then. I was about to make a witty retort when on the other side of the meadow, a bush rustled. Knowing exactly what to do, I pulled out my dark wood bow and an arrow.

"Shut up," I whispered to Seth. The change in him was immediate. His dark red eyes grew more piercing and he clutched the hilt of his sword. He nodded his head in agreement and swiftly moved into the bush.

Out from the hedge, a small shadow appeared. Moving like a droplet of water, the shadow never took on a shape except that it was always long. It seemed to be moving slowly trying to sense us in whatever way it did.

I waited for Seth to move, placing my arrow on my bow just in case something went wrong.

Seth silently jumped out of the wooded area with his sword out and behind him. He raced towards the shadow, his black hair moving in the wind. In the moment before he struck out, he mumbled something.

Unfortunately he missed the shadow and it seemed to disappear. With a yelp, I noticed it was running towards me and growing bigger. I scrambled with my arrow, drawing the bowstring tight.

As I watched the thing running towards me, I mumbled to myself the prayer of sealing.

"Hear my plea, O Aliryian, goddess of Kaydyn

So that I may send this best to whence it became."

Taking a deep breath, I let my arrow fly. It flew into the shadow and it stopped moving. For a hear-wrenching second, I thought that Aliryian had forsaken me, but then a green web spread out and enveloped the shadow. With a blinding flash of green light, the shadow disappeared leaving the meadow as alone and dark as when I first came to it.

Falling to my knees, I gasped for breath. For a few seconds I just sat there until I figured out that it was a moment of weakness and stood up again.

"Hey Aidyn!" Seth called as he ran over. "Aidyn! Thank your guardian god you're okay!"

"She's a goddess remember and no thanks to you," I scolded.

He scowled at me. "I try to be nice for once and you just treat me like a git!"

"Maybe that's because you are one," I snapped. "Besides, I thought that you had that one. Now you made me use up my last arrow."

"I would have had it too if it wasn't so dang fast. Come on, its no use arguing here. Let's get back to Sudi and see what we can do about your precious arrows." Seth then got a sneaky glint in his eyes. "Race you back to the camp," he challenged. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he sprang off nimbly into the woods.

I just rolled my eyes as I jogged before taking off into the dark woods.


	2. Chapter 2

For as long as I could remember, the Shiyun had always plagued the land of Kaydyn. These were creatures of the shadows that were always hungry for human souls. If you were unfortunate enough to be wrapped by one of the Shiyun, they would drag you down to Arcum, or the underworld where they would ultimately take your soul.

Now the Shiyun came in many shapes and types. The wozel is a quick and cunning version, but there are also like the strong elephrin and the flying raviyon. This made them extremely risky and formidable. Humans could only learn to watch their back.

As more and more people vanished into Arcum, humans began praying to the gods of Kaydyn for help. The king of the gods, Thry, heard the people's plea for mercy and sent to Kaydyn the power of sealing the Shiyun back into Arcum.

The power of sealing was only given to people chosen by a god or goddess and these people became the Aniyum, or Sealers. They could seal the Shiyun by touching one with a certain weapon blessed by the gods. This meant the Shiyun could only be destroyed one at a time, but it was a start.

Each Sealer also had their own guardian god or goddess who supposedly looked after them. This was the god or goddess that had given the person the power of sealing. It was from this god that a Sealer drew their power. This protecting god also blessed their weapon.

Even though Sealers were supposed to be saving Kaydyn, they were often shrouded with mysteries. Extremely seclusive, these people were often not welcome in towns unless they were clearing out the Shiyun. Some people were even afraid of their alliance with the gods and often fear the Sealers themselves. This meant that the life of a Sealer was a private, but lonely life.

Still…life in Kaydyn went on…


	3. Chapter 3

"Beat ya!" I just about ran into Seth.

"So what?" I muttered as he went on with his victory cheer.

Seth's very acute ears heard me and he abruptly stopped cheering. "What do you mean so what? I finally beat the fast one. I deserve some type of praise." He was the one with the weird senses while I was the swifter and more agile one.

I scowled at him and then turned my head with a flick of my dark red hair.

"My, my, are they fighting again?" a melodious voice asked.

I turned around again to a friendly face framed with mousy brown hair and filled with feathers, shells, and string decorations. Her sparkling eyes changed colors as she watched Seth and I.

"Sudi!" I brightened up as I saw her, but it was more of an inside thing and I still kept my serious disposition. "Genius over here couldn't catch the wozel and I ended up using my last arrow. Now I'm practically useless." I shot a nasty look at Seth.

He immaturely stuck his tongue out back at me. "Come, on. I'll just go ahead and nick some when we reach the next town," he replied, sticking his muscular arms behind his head. He walked towards his favorite spot, but then stopped. "Uh…where's the camp?"

Sudi laughed. "I felt a disturbance in the air so I decided to move. When I felt you guys coming I came back to show you where to go."

"Are Rion, Velvido, and Nyna okay?" I asked, inquiring about our three horses.

"Of course," Sudi answered, laughing once more. "I put an elementals protection charm on the camp."

I sighed in relief. "Alright then, lead on," I directed.

As we walked through the bushes, dodging the occasional branches, Seth's face came up to mine. I looked over his narrow, cunning features without a second thought as I let out a, "What?"

"Sometimes I get the feeling that you care about the horses more then me." He scrutinized my face.

"And why should I care about you," I replied coolly.

"Ouch," exclaimed Seth as he flinched backwards. "I was hoping," he continued. "That as a human and a fellow Sealer, you might be a little bit more considerate."

I gave a tsking sound. Seth then, with a wicked grin, bopped me on the head. I in return punched him the arm. As he rubbed it, I changed the subject.

"What was that all about nicking arrows from the next town," I questioned, looking into his red eyes with my green ones. "I already told you that I didn't like your thieving."

Seth gave a flourishing bow. "What can I say? My guardian god is Cyafor, god of thieves and trickery."

"He certainly picked the right person," I murmured under my breath. Seth grinned, no doubt from hearing that.

Speaking louder I went on. "Thievery isn't fair to the people you steal from and besides, one day you will end up in serious trouble because of it."

"Well, it's nice to know that you do care about my well-being Aidyn-,"

"And then I would end up with the burden of sealing by myself." Seth's phony rejected look was so good that I let out a little smile.

"You better watch where you're pointing those arrows, O Sealer of the huntress Aliryian. You might actually hurt this humble man."

"And break that shell of pride that you keep around you? I don't think so."

Sudi's voice flowed over the conversation from in front of us. "Maybe it was just your bickering that was disturbing the wind elemental. That means that I moved this whole camp here for nothing."

As I stumbled out of the bush, an intense heat flew to my face. In front of us lay a ring of bright red, twirling, flames. As I shielded my eyes from the intense heat, I noticed that the flames never seemed to burn the ground or move from the circle. It was obviously one of Sudi's elemental spells.

"Fire?" Seth asked, taking a step back.

Sudi gave him a disappointed glance. "Little unoriginal isn't it. Next time I'll try to change the color or the shape of the flames."

Sudi was one of the few Elementalists left in Kaydyn. A powerful gift only a few people harbored, an Elementalist could use the elementals to perform spells, charms, and curses. They made excellent allies in emergencies.

Unfortunately, like Sealers, Elementalists were also feared. The people of Kaydyn, fearing an Elementalist takeover, drove many out of the country years ago. Because of this we had to keep Sudi's gift a secret, but out here alone in the forest it was fine to use it occasionally.

"I think it's beautiful," I commented. Mesmerized by the dancing flames, I reached out my hand to touch one.

Seth raced forward and jerked my hand away. "Idiot! Can't you feel that heat! That fire will burn your hand off!"

I shook myself out of my daze and mumbled a low, "Thanks," to Seth. He just looked at me concerned in a way that made me embarrassed deep inside.

"I'm fine," I snapped getting a hold of myself. "I really wasn't going to touch it for your information."

Seth looked extremely frustrated and then shook his head, turning around.

Sudi's giggling caught our attention and both Seth and I turned to her with annoyed looks on our faces. "Um…actually you can walk through that fire. As well as creating the fire, I weaved in the heat elemental. It adds the effect that the fire is extremely hot when really it's at normal temperature, so you can walk in and out of the camp. I can take it away though if you would like me to." Her face was the picture of innocence.

"Please," Seth and I said at the same time.

Raising her hands up and closing her eyes, Sudi made some elaborate twirls of her wrists. The flames twisted and molded into the shapes of horses. They were so striking, galloping around us. Seth was looking around in wonder, almost like he wanted to go up to them yet was afraid.

Rion, Velvido, and Nyna were pulling on their harnesses, neighing and trying to run up to the horses. Sudi stood still, her eyes still closed, wrists and lips moving.

After a few seconds of the horses dancing, Sudi let out a loud unidentifiable sound. All the horses reared up onto their hind legs and just disappeared, like wind snuffing out a candle.

Sudi opened her eyes. She swooned for a second and Seth ran over to catch her before she fell. I immediately sprinted and grabbed a cup of water from our storage. As a last thought, I swiped a piece of cloth.

I raced back to Sudi, who was now standing up with the help of Seth.

"You're not supposed to overdo yourself," I reminded her wetting the cloth.

"I know but the flames seemed so boring." She took the wet cloth and placed it on her forehead. "Thanks Aidyn."

Only 18 years old, Sudi had only just started using her elemental powers. Around two years ago, while I was wandering around looking for another job, I met up with her in her hometown of Phylia. She had just come back from her secret training in some other town and I literally bumped into her while shopping for supplies. Sudi invited me to stay at her house and while there she revealed to me that she was an Elementalist. Of course I had been surprised because usually an Elementalist never reveals who they are. When I asked her why she trusted me, she said that I just seemed like a trustful person with her own secret. That cracked me and I told her that I was actually a Sealer. At first she was surprised because I was so young, but later she told me that she sort of knew. I didn't know if it was her Elementalist power or just Sudi. Anyways, both being sort of outcasts and what with her just finishing the short training out their for Elementalist, we decided to go out together. The next day she said bye to her parents and struck out with me.

Even though Sudi had a carefree view about the world and was also little absent-minded about it that was just what I liked about her. On the other hand, because she was older, she could become serious in a heartbeat and look out for both Seth and I. She was just like a mother to, taking care of all the little things that happened to me and giving social advice. Sometimes though it was hard to figure out who was taking care of whom. Still she was maybe the only one I was close to trusting. Seth on the other hand, was a whole different story.

Almost a year ago, Sudi and I stopped in the town of Rhegendor. A town notorious for its underground crime, Rhegendor was a good private place for us to re-supply. While there a certain bothersome 15-year-old boy stole my bow blessed by my guardian Aliryian. Really mad and a little worried without my weapon, I tracked down this boy. Confronting him, I found out the dark red-eyed boy's name was Sethian or Seth for short. I asked kindly (in a way) for my bow back which I admit might have been a bit weird, a 14-year-old girl asking an older thief for her goods back. A year though, has changed that view around. Anyways, I resorted to use force to get my bow back and had to use my two hand axes that I kept for close-distanced enemies besides the Shiyun. Unfortunately being a thief, Seth turned out to be good with his own two daggers that he had pilfered.

Our match was then interrupted by a stray Shiyun that stumbled into Seth's hideout. Always hungry for souls, the Shiyun turned for Seth and inched towards him. I searched frantically for my weapon, my Sealer instincts more worried about getting rid of the Shiyun then saving Seth. I couldn't find it though and turned to run thinking that I'd come back later when it wasn't so dangerous, when a dark red light filled the room coming from Seth. The thief god Cyafor descended from nowhere and placed a sword in Seth's hand, while whispering something into Seth's ear before disappearing. With the new weapon in his hand, Seth stepped forward and expertly slashed at the Shiyun. A red web surrounded the Shiyun, dragging it underground.

I placed my head in my hands figuring out that he too was a Sealer, Cyafor's of all gods. I had to explain to Seth that I was a Sealer and that he had my Sealer's weapon. Knowing how important it was to me, he ended up giving it back. The dark-haired boy then followed Sudi and I after that, begging me to teach him about being a Sealer. Sudi being Sudi, she allowed him join us much to my dismay. Now it was a bit louder and maybe not as lonely if not aggravating.

"Come on Aidyn. Let's get a fire started." Seth suggested, jolting me out of my thinking.

I nodded my head turning to Sudi. "Why don't you just sit here while we go get some wood?"

"I already got the wood while you two got that Shiyun," Sudi insisted. "And it's not that hard for me to call on a fire. It'll only take a second."

As much as I wanted her to rest, I knew Sudi was right. The faster we got a fire going, the better. Most things in these woods stayed away from the bright flames.

I nodded my head and moved to help Sudi up.

"Aidyn-," Seth began, but I cut him off.

"You know as well as I do that we need a fire as soon as possible," I snapped, draping Sudi's arm around my neck.

"It's not like I'm injured or anything, though I thank both of you for being so kind," Sudi insisted. To show she was fine, she pressed the wet cloth into my hand before taking a few steps and twirling.

Seth placed his head in his hands. "And when you fall down near death, don't cry for me," he warned.

Sudi giggled as I glared at Seth. "Like you're even needed here," I replied acidly. I followed Sudi as she walked to the center of our camp. The light sound of feet jogging behind me made me sigh.

"Of course I'm needed here," Seth claimed slowing to my pace next to me. "Your life would be so boring without me."

"Is that ever true," I muttered. Seth's eyes twinkled as he set off in a run to Sudi. "That's not a compliment," I yelled to him.

Seth, who had caught up to Sudi sitting down in the middle of the camp, turned around and smiled his thief's smile. "Yeah, yeah, right, but it's as close to one as any I've heard out of the cold Aidyn's mouth."

I jogged up to them and heard Sudi laughing. "Next time we spar, you are so dead," I threatened.

Seth just yawned and sat down in his casual position of his hands behind his head. Looking me straight into the eye, he answered, "Bring it."


	4. Chapter 4

I was lying down in my sleeping cot, blanket pulled up around me. I couldn't sleep, but that was nothing new. Moving my foot a little it bumped into my bow and I breathed in relief. Then the fact of no arrows returned to me and I jerked upright. Now I definitely wouldn't be sleeping.

Pulling my blanket my short-sleeve shirt, I walked silently over to the fire. Sudi's fire never went out and it was always a little different then a normal fire. The flames seemed to dance and on nights when I couldn't sleep, I would always come and watch the fire.

It almost seemed that the elementals had more power over me then humans. Call it a weakness, but I liked them because they didn't talk back and show emotions. The elementals always seemed to like me. Like the horses, I thought turning over to look at them, asleep one right next to each other.

I glanced over to Sudi, the closets thing I had to a mother. She was resting peacefully, a smile playing on her lips. She was no doubt tired from her elemental practice earlier in the night.

Thinking about night made me look up into the sky. The bright stars placed around the two moons Celeri and Kael. Everything was calm.

I found myself thinking as I usually did about Kaydyn. How in a place so beautiful, so wonderful did there exist something as evil as the Shiyun? Did we do something bad? Is some evil person watching us and laughing?

"The gods choose what answers to give us." I jumped in fright, but at the last moment I changed it to my advantage. I whipped around pulling my two hand axes out in a defensive stance.

"Wo, wo, Aidyn it's me." Seth pulled his sword in case I attacked him.

"Geez, Seth," I breathed, falling back onto the ground. "I could have killed you."

Seth smiled before sitting down. "I thought you said you were going to kill me?" He plastered a look of complete innocence on his face.

"I'd rather wait and do that in a fair battle," I retorted turning to look back into the fire. After a little while I broke the silence. "How did you know what I was thinking and what was with the whole philosophical thinking?" I questioned.

Seth smiled gently and lay down. "I can't read minds if that's what you're thinking. You just always seem to be thinking or remembering things. I was watching you and you seemed to be questioning something so I answered in a phrase I've heard a thousand time when nobody knows the answer to something."

"Wow, in-depth for you," I commented.

Seth sat up and punched me in the arm. "I can say smart things too. I just something choose not to. If you would open up, you could learn stuff about people."

"I'm open enough," I protested.

Seth's deep red eyes looked straight into mine. "Right you keep telling yourself that."

Annoyed, I turned my back to him and gave an exasperated huff. Then I realized something. Turning around, I glowered at Seth. "Watching me? How long have you been watching me?"

Seth put his hands in front of him in defense. "Hey! I couldn't sleep and then you started moving. Is that a problem?"

"Maybe…" I muttered more to myself.

"Fine then I won't watch you anymore," Seth replied coolly. Inside me, I cursed his keen thief's ears and eyes. I couldn't keep anything private anymore.

"Fine," I snapped.

"Fine," Seth snapped back.

I returned to staring silently at the fire. I yawned, the heat and colors of the flames making me tired.

"Why are you so into the elementals," Seth asked, breaking the silence this time.

"Huh." I was jolted out of my trance. "Wha…why?"

"Um…well." Seth leaned in forward. "Aside from the fact that you almost got your hand burned off, last week you almost drowned in the pool trap Sudi made and the week before that you were watching Sudi's wind storm and nearly got hit with a branch. Besides that I'm a little curious."

I took a deep breath to keep myself from hitting him. "And what if I don't want to tell you?" I was looking everywhere but his eyes.

Seth reached over and grabbed my chin forcing me to look at him. "So you don't trust me?"

I lost my breath, he looked so sincere. Feeling uncomfortable, I flinched backwards shaking my head. "I'm…I'm going to sleep," I said shakily. Without worrying about an answer, I grabbed my blanket and hand axes, then walked quickly back to my cot.

While getting my bed ready, I looked over and spotted Seth still looking at me. When I finally got situated, burying myself under my blanket, I decided to watch him. I guess he didn't see me because he continued looking into the fire for a while before sighing, getting up, and walking back to his bed.

I couldn't get over why that aggravating boy had been so nice to me. I also didn't understand why I had gotten uncomfortable. There were a lot of things I didn't know though so I gave up. I said a prayer to my goddess Aliryian the Huntress, before falling asleep.

Like always, I woke up first. Walking over to Sudi, I went through last night's events in my mind. Seth had been acting so weird. Probably just another quirk in his personality, I thought. Besides I had more important things to think about, like the well being of our little group.

"Good morning," I whispered to Sudi as I gently roused her.

"Where did the night go?" Sudi sleepily rubbed her eyes.

"Um…it's another day Sudi." I moved things around, placing my vest, belt, quiver, and bow on.

Then I walked on over to Seth. "Rise and shine," I called out lazily kicking his sleeping body.

"Bite me," he growled rolling over.

"Now!" I ordered giving him one last hard kick in the side.

Seth gave a little oomph, but then decided to get up. As he sat up, his blanket fell off and I noticed that he had no shirt on. For the first time in a while, I got a look at his muscular chest that was bronze from working in the sun, just the opposite of pale me. I'd never really noticed how different he had grown since I met him. Of course then he had been an irritating little boy that was barely taller then me. Now he seemed to be a good four inches taller and stronger from sealing and fighting.

I still thought though, that he was always going to be the annoying immature boy that I had always known.

Seth yawned as he fumbled around for his shirt, obviously not noticing that I was looking. As he pulled his usual black shirt over his head, I spun around fast on my heels and headed off towards the fire to make breakfast.

As I was yanking our meager pans out of some canvas bags, I heard the faint swishing sound of Sudi's robe behind me. She was wearing her bright red one with golden trimming and had her brown hair pulled up into a scarlet ribbon.

"Let me help you," she offered.

"As long as you don't use the elementals to like heat up the fire more or something like that." I handed her a pan that I wasn't using.

Placing strips of beef on my pan, I cooked some sausages, while Sudi cut a potato into pieces and placed them on a pan over the fire. As Sudi dug around in another bag for plates, Seth sauntered on over, adjusting his belt that held his sheath and sword.

"Mmm…smells good," he commented.

"Yeah and no thanks to you," I snapped back.

Seth took a step back waving his hands in front of his face. "Well I can tell who's grumpy this morning or wait make that all the time."

I heard Sudi give a little laugh and I glared at both of them. "Alright," I said, turning my back on Seth. "No breakfast for Seth."

"What!" Seth's mouth dropped. Sudi started laughing harder. "I come in, give you two a compliment, defend myself with an obvious fact, then don't get any breakfast. This is the thanks I get with having to put up with two girls."

"Oh stop it Seth," Sudi said finally breaking up the argument. "If Aidyn won't give you any food then I will."

"What!" I blurted out this time. "I thought you were on my side. Now you're giving him food?!"

"Well we can't let him starve," Sudi pointed out.

I grunted, turning my back on both of them in defeat. "Fine feed him, but when starts to annoying you don't come running to me."

"It's so nice that you guys always talk like I'm not here," Seth commented as he sat down behind me. Leaning over he whispered, "See, I'm just charming like that." It was very hard restraining myself, but I was proud when I didn't turn around and hurt him. I didn't practice self-control for no reason.

"So I guess we're leaving now," Seth inferred between bites.

"We did get rid of the wozel after all," I pointed out. "Maybe we should just make sure they're aren't any left here though."

"Not without arrows, you aren't." Sudi turned on me.

"But Seth can get them. I'll just back him up with my hand axes," I argued.

Sudi's motherly instincts came out. "I don't care if you had your own catapult. I do not want you out their fighting a Shiyun with no sealing powers."

As much as I wanted to be out their getting revenge on the Shiyun, I had to admit to the logic in Sudi's reasoning.

"Fine," I grumbled. "But as soon as I get some new arrows, I want to be out there fighting for the good of the people."

"Fair enough," Sudi agreed closing the subject.

"So where to next?" Seth had finished eating and was now lying on the ground thinking.

"What? Want to make sure you're not wanted there," I spat out sarcastically.

Seth gave me a mischievous smile. "Maybe."

I smiled, knowing that Seth had never been out of Rhegendor before now.

"I'll go check the map." Sudi stood up, placing her plate to the side. She ran over to one of the bags and rummaged through it eventually finding what she was looking for. Her face lit up as she studied the worn piece of parchment.

"We're closets to Evengla, the capital," She explained returning to the fire. "You two will love it!"

"Are we actually going to go there," I asked. We always missed Evengla because of its big crowds.

"Yes!" Sudi answered getting excited. "I wasn't sure about before because you two were Sealers, but now you should be able to hide it."

"Wait, did you think we would blab?" asked the ultimate bragger himself.

"Well its just that, like being an Elementalist, being a Sealer isn't necessarily something that needs to get around. People are more scared then you believe and with you just newly empowered, I had to be sure both of you would be okay." Sudi explained.

Seth stood up, standing proudly. "I'm a thief and we're known for our ability to remain unseen in crowds and stealthily get our goods."

"Not that way you aren't," I pointed out. I smiled as Sudi laughed.

"Whatever," Seth huffed, but I caught his smile. "How long is it going to take because I want to go ahead and get moving."

"Wow impatient," Sudi commented. "But it's okay because it'll take us little under a day to reach Evengla."

"So what are we waiting for," I asked. I was cheerful now at the prospect of traveling.

"Absolutely nothing," Sudi exclaimed standing up. Seth and I started gathering up things.


End file.
